[nougatmachine]

Hello all,

I have some silly questions about my Passat that I hope you can answer. First, I'm not even sure if my Passat is a "B5", or if that is a specific kind of Passat, or whatever, so if this is entirely irrelevant to the forum, then I apologize. Regardless, it is a used 1999 Passat with a 4 cylinder turbo engine, and in the manual it quite explicitly states that I must use medium octane fuel with it or suffer severe consequences, perhaps up to and including horrible mutilation. Is this really true? I've never heard of this on any of the other cars I've owned, but then I'm hardly an automotive scholar.

So if any of you would care to enlighten me, please do. Or if I'm just being a nuisance, pretend that I never posted this message and we'll all be fine.

 

[Hizay]

98 and up are B5, I think 2001 are b5.5 etc, someone will clearify.
You have a B5, with the 1.8t (1.8 liter engine, with turbo)
I use 93 or 94 oct gas, wouldn't use anyhting lower than 91 but I don't think its deadly.
welcome to the board, and be careful, this place will suck the $$ right outta ya. and hang out read abunch, you'll pick up on the car knowledge as I have.
:beer:

 

[Codis]

Well, I'll be the first to respond as a 'posting' newbie but long-time lurker on CB5.

Your Passat is in fact a B5, so welcome to the club! B5 refers to the VW body/chasis designation for this model of Passat. The Passat due out in 2006 (I believe, someone will correct me if I'm wrong) is going to be the B6, which means significant changes.

I'm not sure about the medium-octane fuel in a 1999. I have a 2001.5 Passat and my manual says premium unleaded.

 

[dac2800]

You have a B5, according to VW. In mid-2001 VW introduced a "facelift" verison of the B5, with new front and rear, a more powerful 1.8t engine, and a stiffer body. Enthusiasts, such as the members of this site, refere to the facelifted B5 as a "B5.5".

As far as the gas, the sticker inside the gas fill cap specifies that the engine is designed for 91 octane or higher unleaded gasoline. Will lesser gaas harm the engine? No, but I wouldn't recommend using it regularly. The ECU (Enigne Control Unit, or the computer that controls the engine's operations) is optimized to run with 91 octane or better. The ECU can compensate for lower octane fuel. But you will see lesser performance, possibly lower gaas mileage, and at the worst knocking. Basically, the lower cost is not worth the reduced performance. (One of the car rags actually did this copmparison with 3 mainstream cars, this was their conclusion about paying for better or worse than the manufacturer recdommendation.) Now depending on where yuou are, you may not have the option. While California has 91 octane, in the Washington, DC area it's 87, 89 or 93. So I use 93 -- but I'm sure I could get away with 89.

Hope this helps, and welcome to the club!
-David

PS- You're definitely NOT being a nuisance, we were all newcomers to this site (and our cars) at some point! One note. The "Information" section and the Search function are wonderful friends, though I think you would have ended up posting the octane question anyway. Most Club B5 members will not bust on you too hard for "newbie" questions.

 

[MN Snowman]

Hello all,

I have some silly questions about my Passat that I hope you can answer. First, I'm not even sure if my Passat is a "B5", or if that is a specific kind of Passat, or whatever, so if this is entirely irrelevant to the forum, then I apologize. Regardless, it is a used 1999 Passat with a 4 cylinder turbo engine, and in the manual it quite explicitly states that I must use medium octane fuel with it or suffer severe consequences, perhaps up to and including horrible mutilation. Is this really true? I've never heard of this on any of the other cars I've owned, but then I'm hardly an automotive scholar.

So if any of you would care to enlighten me, please do. Or if I'm just being a nuisance, pretend that I never posted this message and we'll all be fine.

Yes, your car is a B5. Beginning in 2001, the Passat changed a bit and those modesl are referred to as B5.5s. Earlier model years are referred to as B4, B3, etc. You can see the differences here: http://www.visi.com/~bhjelt/specs.htm The distinctions btw the B5 and B5.5 used to be detailed in a fairly useful FAQ post ... darned if I can find it now. The major distinctions I've noticed is there's chrome "surround" trim around the windows of the B5.5 (no chrome surround on the B5) & the tailights on the B5.5 have a form of "bow-tie" design where the B5s look like a solid red.

As to fuel: most of us seem to use the highest grade premium (typically 91 octane or higher). Others report they use either the mid-premium (typically 89 octane) or regular (87 octane). Some of those folks report pinging, etc. The general understanding is that the ECU will make the necessary adjustments to accomodate the lower octane but that performance will be somewhat lower.

I use 93 octane, figuring that the few addtional cents I spend per gallon don't amount to that much greater cost over the course of the year.

Welcome to Club B5!

_______________
MN Snowman driving "Not so Ol' Blue"
2002 GLS - Blue Anthracite w/ 1.8T & 5 Speed Manual
See photos & more info here

 

[Tom Parish]

Welcome to the club. I think your questions hav ebeen answered already. You have a great car but there are a few things to be watchful of.

1). If your car has more than 60K miles and the timing belt has not been changed then get it done soon.
2) The control arms have been failing on these cars so if you hear a grinding noise when turning or going over speed bumps check out you control arms.
3) You will not have to worry about the coil pack notiifcation as your car was made before the problem coil packs were produced.
4) Get your car chipped. The difference is amazing. :lol: